One transistor memory cell has heretofore been disclosed as, for example, in an article entitled "Transient Selection Gates Using Breakdown" appearing in the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Vol. SC-7, No. 5, October 1972. However, such memory cells have the disadvantage in that avalanche breakdown is utilized. In the device disclosed in the article, the capacitance associated with the emitter-base and base-collector junctions is utilized. It is believed that this is unsatisfactory because the avalanche breakdown can be a somewhat destructive process in that it decreases carrier lifetime and after repeated operation, the junction no longer has the characteristics that it had when it was first fabricated. There is, therefore, a need for a new and improved memory cell.